Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old woman working for the US Texas military, mysteriously disappeared in April 2020, less than a day after being seen in the barrack’s car park at about 1 pm. The United States Army CID promised a $15,000 reward to anybody who could offer details regarding her whereabouts. On June 25th, the CID increased the reward to approximately 25,000 USD to anybody who offered precise leads. Her decayed body was later discovered along the Leon River, only a few meters from where she disappeared. David Robinson, the victim’s work colleague in the military, had sexually abused her. The day she disappeared, she threatened to file a suit against sexual assault. As a result, the prime suspect in this killing was a member of the Criminal Investigation Department identified as David Robison. An autopsy showed that the victim was struck with a hammer, and her body was afterward disposed of. It was identified that after David had assassinated the victim, he contacted Aguilar, who identified the body and helped him in decapitating the victim’s body that would be buried in three locations. The accused is being remanded in jail on the presumption of collusion to interfere with proof and contribute to the murder.
Set of guidelines to Conduct Criminal Investigation
A preliminary investigation is a range of processes conducted out by the first respondent at the crime scene. Foremost, saving lives is essential in crime investigation. As a result, the first officer on the crime scene recognizes and attends to any violence fatalities. Calling paramedics or mobile caregivers to the scene and providing emergency care to the victims is one way to accomplish this intervention. Monitoring the scene is the next vital step. The officer explores any sidearm that could have been used in the criminal offense. In addition, the officer assesses the victim’s circumstances (Dutelle, 2020). For instance, are there any signs that the victim is struggling to save their life? Is it conceivable that the death was a murder, suicide, or another type of killing? These are the most critical questions generated at the scene of the crime.
Finally, the officer specifies if the crime was committed. If a crime is committed, the officer takes proper measures. Contacting the Criminal Investigation Authority, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other agencies could be part of this. The detective may also contact the police department to have any perpetrators apprehended (Saferstein, 2013). The fourth step is to safeguard the scene of the crime. At this point, the officer guarantees nobody is allowed into the scene and that any officer accessing or leaving the scene is documented. Moreover, the officer interviews, observes and files any assertions which may provide information and evidence. Eventually, the officer compiles a comprehensive description of everything they discovered at the scene of the crime.
Data mining to conduct an efficient follow-up investigation
Data mining analyzes large amounts of data to identify patterns and establish a correlation between different variables. Data mining can be used in a criminal probe to anticipate the crime pattern of a particular region before the crimes are committed. For instance, in this scenario, data mining tools would be used to pinpoint David Robinson’s behavioral traits immediately following the victim’s disappearance. This is because perpetrators display specific behavior during the investigation period to cover up any detectable evidence (Parmelee, 2020). Because of the questionable activities, forensic experts would have ab enormous advantage in identifying the main suspect in this killing.
Major crimes in this case and reporting procedures.
Vanessa Guillen’s case is considered murder. Based on the case, the victim died after being hit numerous times with a hammer. David Robison, the victim’s colleague, is the main suspect in the murder. The other offense committed by the second appellant, Cecily Aguilar, is a plan to undermine proof. It was revealed that Aguilar aided David in decapitating most of the victim’s body parts later buried in three different regions. An autopsy was conducted on the victim’s body, which helped ascertain the cause of her murder.
Four most essential characteristics of an effective criminal investigator
Effective crime scene investigators have the capacity to control feelings, enforce honesty and morals, have the technical and legal knowledge and skills, and have strong communication skills. In this case, the inquests were effective. Nevertheless, it took approximately two months after the victim’s disappearance for her body to be discovered. As a result, the detective should enhance their technological expertise to trace an individual’s whereabouts as quickly as possible. This is because some documentation may be lost within a certain period. For example, the suspect’s fingerprints may not be regained two months after the death.
Conduct Effective Investigations
An effective investigation is essential to the sustainability of the justice system. As a result, every detective strives to conduct a successful inquiry that would yield substantial proof to hasten civil proceedings. One way of achieving an effective investigation is to reduce the harassment of the accused or witnesses (Lee & Pagliaro, 2013). When an accused is threatened, they may cover up crucial data used in the case. Conversely, witnesses may face intimidation from the suspect, therefore, failing to provide reliable information. As a result, forensic experts must also promote an atmosphere free of coercion whereby each party could participate without feeling insecure.
